Most teachers I know have some goal that they set for their summers. Sometimes it’s to spend time with their families, travel a lot, or even spend time reworking their classroom for the following school year. For me, this summer is being characterized by waking up early to do P90X early in the morning before the rest of my family wakes up and growing a beard.
I have done the P90X program before, but this summer (so far) I have really committed to staying with the schedule. It’s been really good for me to wake up a little early and work out because it gives me time to finish and relax a little bit before our baby gets up and it’s family time. The workouts usually take about an hour (sometimes more) and I use my upstairs game room to keep the noise to a minimum downstairs. Oddly enough, I’ve really enjoyed trying the Yoga portion of the program even though I’m terrible at it and usually give up well before the end. I’m also still working to finish the Ab Ripper portion of the program, but I get better every time I try it. I’ve also been going on long-ish walks every night when I have the opportunity. I started downloading podcasts to keep me entertained on my walks. I’ve even thought about starting back up on the Couch to 5K program, but as of yet I have not. Overall I’ve enjoyed the summer workout regime and hope to keep it up through the summer and into the school year.
I have a love/hate relationship with the beard growing enterprise. Some days I really love the look of me in a beard. I’ve always humored the idea of growing a full beard and I usually grow some sort of facial hair during the summer, since I can’t grow any during the school year. The problem I’m finding with my beard is that some days it doesn’t bother me at all and other days it is itchy and almost unbearable. My goal was to grow out my beard for the entire summer, but depending on the day that may or may not happen. For now, I’ll keep it and I’ll post some before and after pictures after I shave again.